Transcript Assisting, Collaborating, and Training ESL Secondary

Assisting, Collaborating, and Training
ESL Secondary Content Teachers
ACT-ESL
Virginia Commonwealth University
School of Education
Project Director: Dr. Seonhee Cho
General Grant Information
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Funding Source: U.S. Department of
Education (OELA: Office of English Language
Acquisition)
Grant Type: National Professional
Development
Grant Project Year: 5 years (2007-2012)
Grant Money: $1.2 Million
Partner LEA: Chesterfield County Public
Schools
Chesterfield County Public Schools
LEP Population in Chesterfield County Public Schools
2500
2000
1500
288
1000
500
0
1997
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1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
All
LEP
Reading
History
Math
Science
Fast growing ELL population (600% increase in the past 10 yrs.)
6 secondary ESL-centered schools and will open 2 more schools
next year
80-90% of ELLs have Hispanic and socio-economically
disadvantaged backgrounds.
SOL passing rate is 20% lower on average (ELL vs. All)
ACT-ESL Major Activities
Summer Institute Follow-ups with Technical Coaching
Professional Learning Communities
Why do Secondary Content-area
Teachers Need Training?
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Basic Interpersonal Skills (BICs: 6 mons.-2 yrs.) vs. Cognitive Academic
Language Proficiency (CALP: 4-8 yrs.) (Collier, 1989;Cummins, 1980)
 All ELLs after their first year in U.S. school system are mandated to
take high-stakes tests with the same expectation of academic
standards.
 High school diploma awarded only to students who pass SOL tests.
 Simultaneous approach to academic content and language
 Depth and breadth of content knowledge, and discipline-specific and
cognitively-demanding academic language (Chamot & O’Malley,
1994)
 Placements of ELLs in a low academic and non-college bound track
 Content-area teachers’ area lack of experience and training to work
with ESL students; Rare collaboration beyond teachers’
disciplinary and less participation in interdisciplinary training (Harklau,
1999)
√ The role of content-area teachers is critical in ELLs’ academic
achievements. Thus, ACT-ESL provides summer training to
secondary content-area teachers using ESL instructional
strategies.
1. Goal, Objectives, Activities
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Goal 1: To conduct an ESL instruction summer intensive
training for in-service content-area teachers.
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Performance Objectives 1: In each of the first four years,
approximately 52 in-service teachers in Math, Science,
English/Language Arts, and Social Studies/History will be
trained to use ESL instructional strategies.
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Activities 1: Recruitment of project staff; recruitment of inservice teachers who will work with ESL students in the
following years; development of summer institute curriculum
modules and instructional course content; developing preand post-surveys to measure trainees’ newly acquired
knowledge and skills; development of course evaluation
survey; development of rubrics to assess resource books.
Why does Teacher Training Need
Follow-ups?
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One-shot lectures or demonstrations unrelated to teachers’
experiences, prior knowledge, interests and concerns are
inefficient.
→Integrate teachers’ concerns and experiences by actively
engaging them in their learning process.
Intended change in a real classroom will not occur without
appropriate follow-ups (Gordon, 2004; Lieberman & Miller, 1999).
→ Provide follow-ups and assistance of implementation until
teachers try out new skills and integrate them into their
practice.
√ ACT-ESL training adopts a long term in-service training
model and views teachers as a resource and their current
teaching practices as a point of departure for advancement,
enhancement and changes.
2. Goal, Objectives, Activities
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Goal 2: To conduct year long follow-ups with
technical assistance.
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Performance objectives 2: Starting from the
second (fiscal) year, all trainees who completed
summer training will receive one-on-one technical
coaching 3 times (twice in fall and once in spring)
and a post-seminar at the end of year.
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Activities 2: Recruitment of technical assistants;
training technical assistants; technical coaching
(classroom observations and feedback); planning
and hosting a post-seminar.
Why Should Professional Learning
Communities Develop?
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Externally imposed short-term change program is not effective in
a long run, damaging teachers’ long-term commitment to their
work (Hargreaves, 2003).
→ Developing professional learning communities is the most effective
way to engage teachers in change and change of school culture
(Gordon, 2004).
→ Secondary content teachers’ compartmentalization and disciplinary
boundary can help create professional learning communities within
the same disciplinary group.
√ The concept of building professional learning communities
resonates with the ultimate purpose of the grant, which is
building capacity and yielding results that will last beyond
the period of federal financial assistance.
3. Goal, Objectives, Activities
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Goal 3: To develop professional learning communities
related to ESL instruction.
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Performance Objectives 3: Starting the end of year 2, an
annual teaching demonstration fair, and conference
presentations and workshops conducted by trainees will be
supported. In addition, self-directed and assisted action
research and study groups will be facilitated through
financial support and research assistance.
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Activities 3: Annual teaching demonstration fair; conference
and workshop presentations; action research paper; study
groups.
Projected Benchmarks of ACT-ESL
Major Target Performance
Objectives related to goals
Yr. 1
Yr. 2
Yr. 3
Yr. 4
Yr. 5
Total
Summer Institute Participants
(n= 52 per year )
52
52
52
52
N/A
208
Technical Assistant Training
(n=4 per year)
4
4
4
4
N/A
16
Classroom Observations
(n= 52 X 3 times=156)
N/A
156
156
156
156
624
Post-Seminar Participants
(n=52)
N/A
52
52
52
52
208
Demonstrators at Teaching
N/A
12
12
16
16
56
N/A
N/A
8
12
16
36
N/A
N/A
8
12
16
36
Demonstration Fair
Conference
Presentations/Demonstration
Study Group/Action Research*